Schedule of Homework Assignments
Historical Linguistics, Winter 2009
Four Melanau Dialects
2
3
All assignments due Tuesday the following week before class.
Week Assignment
1 Lexicostatistical Classification &
Glottochronology
Data
Modified Swadesh 200-word List
Corr. Sets, perfectly matched words;
1 st phase of reconstruction of PM vocab.
334-word List
(two handouts: one for Cs, one for Vs & diphthongs)
Corr. Sets, consonants; 2 nd phase of recon. 334-word List
4
5
>>6
>>7
8
9
10
Corr. Sets, vowels; 3 rd phase of recon., e.g. account for a=a=i=a.
“
“
Sound Change: Deriving dialects from PM Reconstructed PM Vocabulary
Mid-term: Tuesday review; Thursday exam
One-page proposal for your term project due
Sound Change: Deriving PM from PMP
Grad Student Presentations
Grad Student Presentations
Reconstructed PMP Vocabulary
Individualized Assignments
The data include PMP reconstructions (provided) and the Melanau dialect data.
Your task is to (a) reconstruct Proto-Melanau (PM), (b) write the rules deriving PM from
PMP, (c) list all irregularities in the data, and (d) propose an explanation for as many of the irregularities as you can, and identifying the remainder as unexplained.
1. Vowel sequences and vowel+semivowel sequences: Do PMP and Melanau have diphthongs?
2. Laryngeals (h and ʔ)
3. Liquids (l, r and ɤ)
4. Palatals (c, j, ñ)
5. High vowels (i, u)
6. Peripheral mid vowels (e, o)
7. Cental and low vowels (ə, a)
8. Reflexes of PMP trisyllables in Melanau
9. Which Melanau dialect is most conservative, which most innovative, and what does this mean with respect to the Blust-Ross Hypothesis? (a) Lexicostatistical evidence, (b) evidence from sound change. References: Blust 1991, Ross 1991, Kiparsky (1988:383),
McGinn 2005.

10. Given PMP and your reconstructed PM, consider the possibility of presenting the entire case for the PM on the basis of just two dialects instead of four. Next, consider what two dialects are best suited for this task, and show how the remaining two dialects can be derived. Finally consider any and all implications of the reconstructional asymmetry. For example, perhaps the two test languages are the most conservative dialects, or the “oldest”, etc.)
11. Are there any “long-distance” conditions on sound change in Melanau (as in Rejang)?
Any vowel harmony rules? Any irregularities that can be explained if we expand the focus of attention from segments to sequences of segments?
12. Do pronouns and other function words follow the regularity hypothesis? Additional data: 200-sentences in three dialects.
Homework Assignments
First Assignment (due Tuesday, Jan. 13)
Data: Modified Swadesh 200-word list
(Please download Charis SIL IPA fonts before viewing the data.)
1. Determine cognate percentages (pair wise, i.e. for each pair of dialects) and then see what implications can be derived (subgrouping, historical inferences, estimated date of dialect split, etc.)
2. Make a note of any observations you might have
Second Assignment (due Tuesday, Jan. 20)
Materials: 334-word finder list ; download Charis SIL IPA fonts before viewing the data
1. Make a list of all words that correspond exactly among the four dialects, and include also exact correspondences between two or three dialects when the remaining dialects show a non-cognate.
2. Based on the above, make a list of identical consonant correspondence sets, and give the number of occurrences of each set. (The following is for illustration only.)
Word-initial consonant: p=p=p=p / #__ 15 occurrences
Intervocalic consonant: p=p=p=p / V__V
Word-final consonant: p=p=p=p / __# other (e.g. preconsonantal consonant)
10 “
4 “
0 “
3. Note any other features in the list, e.g. are there any consonant clusters?

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all identical vowel correspondence sets, making notes when you see something potentially significant. (The following is for illustration only.)
Word-initial vowel
Word-final vowel
Interconsonantal vowel: monosyllabic word
Interconsonantal vowel: penultimate syllable
Interconsonantal vowel: ultimate syllable
Vowel sequences (e.g. siaw ‘chicken’)
5. Group the correspondences into sets and numerate them, e.g. p=p=p=p/#__ (6) p=p=p=p/v__v (4), and p=p=p=p/__# (3). Next, group these sets into a larger set, e.g. p=p=p=p (13).
6. Keep a list noting any problems encountered while completing this assignment.
Third Assignment (due Jan. 27)
1. Continue developing lists of words showing regular correspondence sets for consonants and vowels; and expand the list of regular correspondence sets beyond the identical sets.
Cataloge all such correspondences similar to previous assignment, e.g. aw=o=o=əw /__#
(7).
2. Keep a list of irregularities encountered in the data, and divide them into two groups: a phonological group and a morphological group (see below).
3. Keep a list of suspected morphological and morphophonemic effects evident in the data.
Prior to the analysis, one cannot assume that the informant has provided a root word rather than an affixed word.
Note on Morphology
We will discuss Melanau morphology in class. For useful morphological and syntactic data, please consult (a) the 200-Sentence data and (b) an article on a related dialect, Mukah, by Robert A. Blust (handout). The main point to be discussed is the fact that the Melanau dialects lack suffixes but have prefixes and infixes.
Therefore, ultimate (final) syllables should not pose the same kinds of problems as initial syllables. Put in another way, the analyst should be aware that some word-initial consonants might be morphological prefixes, and some penultimate high vowels (namely, -i- and –u-) might be infixes.
Fourth Assignment (due Feb. 3): Reconstruct Proto-Melanau (preliminary hypothesis)
1. Begin reconstruction of a hypothetical language called “Proto-Melanau” based on the correspondences derived from the previous assignments.
2. Make a selection of term project topic .
3. Write a set of rules to account for systematic dialect differences within your chosen topic
4. Keep a careful list of possible problems and exceptions to the rules
5. From the above list extract a sub-list of suspected borrowings.

>>Additional homework assignment, due Tue, Feb. 10. There are two parts. (a) Make charts showing the Inventory of Phones for the particular dialect you were assigned in class (consonant chart, vowel chart, list of diphthongs (if any)). (b) Write 5 rules deriving selected dialect data (your dialect) from hypothesized proto-Proto-Melanau phones. Some rules may be “perfect match” types; others (the more interesting ones) will represent sound changes that occurred in your dialect. Caveat: At this stage of the project, all reconstructions and rules are tentative and subject to revision as more observations are brought to bear on the general problem of reconstructing the historical phonology of
Melanau.
>>Note: Mid-term is Thursday, Feb. 12. (sixth week of the quarter)
>>Next homework assignment: due Tue, Feb. 17. Develop a one-page proposal for your term project. (Graduate students will also make a presentation on their topic.)
>>Last homework optional—please drop in to discuss your project, and bring your work.
>>Next Assignment (due Tue. Feb. 24): Melanau dialects and Proto Malayo-Polynesian
(PMP)
1. An expanded 334 word list will be provided in class which will include all of the reconstructed Proto Malayo-Polynesian etyma. PMP is the result of a century’s work by numerous linguists.
1. Repeat the steps followed in homework assignments 2-4 above comparing PMP with your reconstructed PM (Proto-Melanau).
2. Make a list of any problems encountered.
3. Make a sub-list to record any cases where your reconstructed PM may have to be adjusted or corrected based on the PMP etyma. The ultimate objective is to derive the dialect data from PMP; the intermediate state (PM) is adjustable and perhaps even expendable.